Knights, Trojans to square off in District 3-5A baseball race

LAS CRUCES - It's the classic District 3-5A baseball race in 2013, a topsy-turvy league where unpredictable performances and volatile season standings figure to be in the mix.

The favorite on paper appears to be the Oñate Knights, who stand at 12-3 overall and 2-0 in league play.

With that being said, Las Cruces High can't be overlooked, a team that's improved over the course of the season and now stands at 8-8 on the year after sweeping Gadsden last week.

Mayfield is a tough team to quantify - one that stands at 8-10 on the season, although a program that typically has talent on its roster. Just this season, the Trojans played poorly against Sandia, played well in a 9-1 win over Hobbs during the New Mexico Baseball Invite, and took two from Gadsden earlier this week in Anthony, NM.

Speaking of the Panthers, they're young but have a tough-minded team that will battle the opposition, particularly at home.

And while Alamogordo appears to be finding itself, the Tigers were competitive in two games this week against Oñate during the two teams' doubleheader in Las Cruces.

"Keep them focused on what's ahead of us, not what's behind," said OHS head coach David Reyes on keeping his team mentally prepared for league play. "Take one day at a time. And that leads us to our next game against Mayfield."

Yes, the Knights and Trojans face each other Saturday for an 11 a.m. doubleheader at Field of Dreams Baseball Complex.

For all intents and purposes, it's a toss-up between the respective city rivals.

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While the Knights have a 12-3 record, they're still searching for consistency in their own way. The team started the year with a sweep of Hobbs to open Field of Dreams, and picked up a quality win over El Paso Americas early in the year.

Recently, the Knights split a doubleheader at Deming, however, before sweeping Alamo at home.

Oñate's pitching has been it's strong suit. Against the Tigers, Anthony Garcia was dominant at times and escaped two bases-loaded jams at others. Danny Brennan was also top-notch, closing out the final inning against Alamo in the opener before throwing a complete-game shutout in the nightcap.

With that, Reyes said his team must continue to improve hitting with runners in scoring position.

"That's been the backbone to our success, is our pitching," Reyes said. "And our defense. Our pitchers are confident they can throw strikes and our defense will play well behind them.

"We have to hit it consistently. That's the other element that has to come around, and then we're there."

As for the Trojans, they face a similar scenario. According to head coach Miguel Gomez, the team's gotten good enough play from a pitching and defensive standpoint, but must get better production from it's batting order.

"It's a timing issue and a confidence issue right now," Gomez said. "But we're going to get where we need to be, starting right now in district."

They hope to get it going against the Knights.

"I know my guys are going to compete," Gomez said. "But we have to play baseball in a relaxed mode, we can't press. Just because it's district, just because it's Oñate, we still have to play Mayfield baseball. Do what we do well, and hopefully get a win."

Teddy Feinberg can be reached at (575) 541-5455. Follow him on Twitter @TeddyFeinberg